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Friday 29 August 2003

The World Today is a comprehensive current affairs program which backgrounds, analyses, interprets and encourages debate on events and issues of interest and importance to all Australians. Below is the program summary with links to transcripts and audio (if available).

Growing calls for release of audit report on Pan Pharmaceuticals

There are growing calls for the Federal Government to release publicly a secret audit report into the workings of Pan Pharmaceuticals, the company at the centre of Australia's largest ever drug recall. Details of the secret report have been leaked to the news media with some disturbing findings. But the Federal Government insists it's unable to release the report because of commercial confidentiality, and it's calling on the company's founder, Jim Selim, who also has a copy of the report to go public.

COAG meeting underway amid tension

Premiers and Territory leaders have been meeting at Parliament House in Canberra today, again accusing the Federal Government of short-changing them on health funding. Prime Minister, John Howard, says the Premiers are being melodramatic and that the Federal offer is generous. The Council of Australian Governments meeting, often descends into a slanging match, but this meeting has added tension because the Federal-state healthcare agreement runs out on Sunday, and the states have until now refused to sign up to the new deal they say leaves them short.

Think globally, act locally: Justice Michael Kirby

Think globally, act locally, is not the kind of message one usually hears in relation to bioethics and intellectual property laws, but that's what High Court Judge, Justice Michael Kirby, is encouraging people to do. Justice Kirby has been telling a Sydney conference today that it's important to remember that decisions made at an international level about drug patents affect individuals. He says there's a risk that strict patent laws for human genome research mean that breakthroughs in technology run the risk of being used for new wrinkle creams rather than for a wider benefit.

Pittman wins gold at world athletic championships

Jana Pittman is the new toast of Australian athletics today, after she won gold in the 400 metres hurdles at the World Athletic Championships in Paris this morning. She spoke to The World Today's Ross Solly shortly after the race.

Pittman dedicates win to Cathy Freeman

Jana Pittman will now turn her focus on the Olympics in Athens next year, and try to deal with the pressure that goes with being the best in the world. One person who knows only too well what Jana Pittman can expect is Olympic 400 metre Champion, Cathy Freeman. Ms Pittman dedicated her win to Cathy Freeman in recognition of the work that she's done to put Australian athletics on the map. And in Paris, Ross Solly broke the news of that dedication to Cathy Freeman.

Blair relatively unscathed after fronting Hutton Inquiry

The integrity of British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, seems at least so far to have emerged relatively unscathed after Mr Blair's appearance before the Hutton inquiry into the death of Government scientist Dr David Kelly. Mr Blair says he takes full responsibility for the series of events which led to Dr Kelly being named as the source of the BBC's story. He also said that if the claim were true, and the Government had set out to deliberately mislead the public, he would have resigned.

Filmmaker recounts meeting with David Kelly

Four weeks before Dr David Kelly's apparent suicide, Australian freelance producer, writer and documentary filmmaker, Susan Lambert, spent five hours interviewing Dr Kelly at his home in Oxfordshire for a new documentary. The documentary, on the history of biological weapons, is due to be broadcast later this year. Susan Lambert is speaking to Edmond Roy.

Military explosives teams remove unexploded ordnance in Iraq

In Iraq itself, one of the consequences of the recent war has been a lethal legacy of unexploded ordnance including bombs and other munitions, which pose a major hazard to the country's civilian population. But the push to remove them as soon as possible has taken on a new sense of urgency, as there's evidence they're falling into the hands of terrorists and other groups fighting the coalition forces.

Patrick Dodson book launch: Paddy's Road

Now to the biography launched today of Australia's first Aboriginal Catholic priest, the first Aboriginal Royal Commissioner, and according to some, the father of reconciliation. Paddy's Road was launched as part of the Melbourne Writer's Festival, the life story of Patrick Dodson, one of the country's most respected Aboriginal leaders.

Gunns company shareholders vote against resolution to stop logging of old-growth forests

There's been a loss this morning for those campaigning against the logging of old growth forests in Tasmania. An Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders in the timber company, Gunns, has failed to support a motion that called on the company to stop logging old growth timber, and source all of its material from plantation forests instead. The meeting was forced upon the company by The Wilderness Society, which was trying to convince some of the major institutional shareholders to accept what they said would amount to a small loss in earning per share.

Premiers and territory leaders walk out of COAG meeting

Well, returning very briefly to our story on COAG, the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra. We've just heard that the premiers and territory leaders have walked out of the meeting at Parliament House. Hamish Robertson is joined by Alexandra Kirk.